during my years of associating with iskcon i noticed that colours are not allowed on the holi or gaurpurnima day . this is obviously in accordance with the norms of renunciates who do not wish to indulge in such a play . and it is also a way to stop unwanted hooligans creating disturbances in the temple premises ( such distrubances are common on holi throughout india ) .

but the thing that i fail to understand is why colours(gulal or phag) is not offered at the feet of the lordships . offering gulal to god and then to the elders have been the norms in entire north india including bengal . holi beigns after you offer some colours to the feet of your ishta devata in love and respect .

gaudiya vaishnavism , being a sampradaya from bengal has innumerable bengali traditions within its fold . and

bengali tradition holds that on the day of dolyatra( holi ) the deities are supposed to be put to swing and colours applied on their feet accompanied by special puja , bhajan kirtan etc . iskcon have done away with this tradition also .

i have heard iskcon devotees say that its inapropriate for those who have not attained the highest krishna prema to play colours with the lord . but cant you apply it to his feet . would he stand up and curse u if you did that ?!!!

what might be the reason for this willful and poor tasted deviation from traditional rituals ? anyone have any idea ??

Jivattatva

04 March 2010, 03:05 AM

Hare Krishna

I have to admit that GVs are not really big on Holi celebration.

However, we are big on Radha Govinda Jhulan Yatra which runs for one week. Everyone is allowed to swing their lordships Radha Govinda.

This year it's in August and leading up to so many celebrations for GVs like Sri Krishna Janmasthami (Appearance of Lord Krishna).

sambya

05 March 2010, 12:03 AM

yes , i know that . however i want to find out the reason behind it . and it is also not correct to say that GVs are not into holi celbration . its the modern GVs who are not into it .

even as late as 150 years ago most people of bengal used to get initiated under gudiya vaishnava sampradayas -- from the goswami lineages of advaita acharya , nitayanada , vishnupriya devi , norottam thakur etc etc . although there were many shakta kaula gurus , GV gurus were the ones who controlled the most of hindu populations in greater bengal . their influence in still noticable everywhere . even a shakta family will have a shalagram shila as their honoured griha-devata . and dol(holi) is the next most important festival in bengal after durga puja .

almost all the traditional radhakrishna temples that we see in present bengal were established by rich landlords under instructions of their kula-guru(a gudiya vaishnava --generallly nityananda or advaita vamsha) . swings including lavish use of colurs also played and important part in these celebrations . many of these temple traditions are as old as 400 to 300 years , which means they are within the time of narottam thakur and valadeva bidyabhusana etc .

how can modern GV orders like iskcon blatantly neglect age old customs started by GVs themselves and still use the term Gaudiya( which means bengali ) ?

there must be some reason behind this willfull departure from traditional values . i wish to see the reason behind this , if any !

pranaam radhe radhe...

grames

05 March 2010, 03:43 AM

there must be some reason behind this willfull departure from traditional values . i wish to see the reason behind this , if any !pranaam radhe radhe...

In my opinion, ( may be fully wrong) i guess the lineage in which Srila Prabupada came from ( Gauidya is an umbrella under which there are so many branches) emphasizes on Raga-Marga but not as immediate process to step in to. Also i believe, Raganuga is not possible for those who do not have Vaidhi. Pure vaidhi is helpful to raga, and pure raga is a result of vaidhi that is in harmony with the will of God. For some Gaudiyas, this Vidhi is compulsory and Srila Prabupada's guru parampara followed the Vidhi and Raga as inseparable but in the order of Vidh, Raga and then Vidhi+Raga as inseparable methods. This is the reason why they criticize all other GV offshoots who immediately steps in to Raganuga as paths to self destruction. ( Not just Gaudiyas for that matter and all other Vaishnava parampara also emphasize on the importance of Vidhi Bhakthi and Prapatti as the only way to make progress and pure Bhakthi is only possible for those who have completed their Prapatti stage). So what you have mentioned as "Tradition" may not be really a tradition for ALL is what i think the reason of departure.

Jaya Radhe!

sambya

05 March 2010, 10:57 AM

In my opinion, ( may be fully wrong) i guess the lineage in which Srila Prabupada came from ( Gauidya is an umbrella under which there are so many branches) emphasizes on Raga-Marga but not as immediate process to step in to. Also i believe, Raganuga is not possible for those who do not have Vaidhi. Pure vaidhi is helpful to raga, and pure raga is a result of vaidhi that is in harmony with the will of God. For some Gaudiyas, this Vidhi is compulsory and Srila Prabupada's guru parampara followed the Vidhi and Raga as inseparable but in the order of Vidh, Raga and then Vidhi+Raga as inseparable methods. This is the reason why they criticize all other GV offshoots who immediately steps in to Raganuga as paths to self destruction. ( Not just Gaudiyas for that matter and all other Vaishnava parampara also emphasize on the importance of Vidhi Bhakthi and Prapatti as the only way to make progress and pure Bhakthi is only possible for those who have completed their Prapatti stage). So what you have mentioned as "Tradition" may not be really a tradition for ALL is what i think the reason of departure.

Jaya Radhe!

thanks for taking time to explain . what you say is true . direct attempts to imitate raganuga bhakti results in deviations and corruptions . so vaidhi bhakti is a must . however i also differ in one aspect of this . i believe that there are some individuals who are already well ahead in their paths to lord , and they might have already come across vaidhi paths in their previous lives . such individuals have a natural attraction to lord since childhood . to impose totall vaidhi on them would therefore restrict their free growth .

yes , GVs comprises of many subsects but im speaking of those leneages through which iskcon came into existence --- for example advaita vamsa (guru of bhaktivinoda thakur ) . even those leneages indulge in lavish play of colours . infact there wasnt any GV sect in bengal that didnt use colours prior to isckon !!!